I wasn’t happy with the alesis interface I tried in the past (not this
one, it was a small usb keybaord with audio i/o), but I hope it changed
since that time. I’m very happy with my motu ultralite.
BTW, I have a m-audio 1410 running 12 hours a day for an installation
since 2 years (or is it 3?) and it’s still running.

i’ve used the m-audio firewire 410 as my main live audio interface
for several years, and generally i have been happy with the sound and
operability of the unit, plus it was inexpensive. not sure if it is
made anymore. like others, i do have some minor quibbles with the m-
audio drivers – there have been some odd bugs over the years – but it
has never failed during a show and is pretty robust overall.
best
b

I have a focusrite saffire pro 26 i/o – very happy with it – clean sounding
mic pre’s – plays happily with max- not exactly small, but it’s certainly
portable – I took it to india for a recording project, and it was very handy
to have 8 channels of mic pre running on bus power.
I’d seriously recommend you consider the 26 i/o over the 10 i/o – I only
paid about $100 extra and I can already see the option of ADAT expansion is
going to be handy.

i have the m-audio 1814 and it annoys the hell out of me. it’s really pernickety about firewire issues (not hot-pluggable, sometimes drops out if laptop goes to sleep). also, it has 8 analog inputs and 4 analog outputs, so the extra in/outs are only available through the ADAT option, which is a pain if you don’t have a digital desk or some such device.
i should have got the Motu ultralight instead. i think it has 8ins and outs,and pretty much the same size. and cheaper.